Journal Reviews
Pain relief after removal of non-obstructive renal calculi
Non-obstructing stones are often not considered to be the source of pain, and probably most are not. This is because flank pain associated with a stone is typically caused by a stone that obstructs urinary flow, which increases intraluminal pressure...
To clamp or not to clamp – outcomes of the CLOCK trial for robotic partial nephrectomy
The benefits of partial over radical nephrectomy are well established. The CLOCK trial (CLamp vs. Off Clamp the Kidney during robotic partial nephrectomy) was designed as a multicentre, randomised controlled trial to generate evidence on the role of the off-clamp...
Risk stratified approach to early intervention for renal colic
Existing guidance on this topic is based on older and smaller studies, and there remains variation in practice. This review of database outcomes of 1168 out of 3081 (38%) patients who underwent early intervention after presentation to nine Canadian emergency...
Is routine renal tumour biopsy associated with lower rates of benign histology following nephrectomy for small renal masses?
There has been a considerable increase in the detection of small renal masses (SRM). Approximately 20% of these turn out to be benign lesions on final histopathological analysis. Therefore upfront surgery can be overtreatment in such a group of patients....
Surgery in disorders of sexual development with gender issues
After the initial consensus meeting of 10 years ago on disorders of sex development (DSD) with the introduction of the new terminology and classification there are still abundant controversial issues associated with the management of children with these conditions. This...
Renal fossa recurrence after nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma
This paper is an analysis of 36 years of radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma in the Mayo Clinic (1970-2006). In particular, it contains an analysis of the risk of renal fossa recurrence after nephrectomy (partial nephrectomies are not included)...
PSM increases risk of recurrence after PN for high-risk renal tumours
Positive surgical margins (PSM) for solid organ malignancies are associated with adverse oncological outcomes. However, for RCC the prognostic significance of PSM after partial nephrectomies (PN) remains a matter of debate. As PN is more increasingly being used to excise...
Outcome analysis of paediatric pyeloplasty
This prospective study from India included 744 patients of whom 112 had renal function less than or equal to 20% at the time of diagnosis. Thirty percent underwent a nephrostomy initially. Ten with no function had a nephrectomy. Of the...
Active surveillance for renal neoplasms
Renal oncocytomas are the second most common benign renal tumours and they originate from the collecting tubules. They appear genotypically very similar to chromophobe renal cell carcinomas (chRCC), which also contain eosinophilic cells. Oncocytomas are often found incidentally on routine...
Does one-year decline in eGFR after radical nephrectomy and in matched living donors match?
In the May issue of BJUI Miki N Hew et al. discuss differences in renal function evolution between patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) submitted to radical nephrectomy (RN) and living kidney donors matched for age and gender. They also...
Cryotherapy for small renal masses: better than surveillance?
With the rapid rise in incidental small renal mass detection, some of which have malignant potential, comes the need to either survey or treat these masses safely and with minimal morbidity. This large series of 147 patients with 171 masses,...
